Sunday, August 23, 2009

According to "Josep Woodman" well known medical tourism expert who has recently written a book on Medical Tourism" called "patient beyond borders" JCI (Joint Commission International ) accredited public and private hospitals around the world has increased by nearly 1,000 percent. Up from a mere 27 hospitals and health care organizations with that accreditation in 2004 to 250 Healthcare Institutions in 2009 . As of now over 250 such entities in 36 countries have now been accredited by the JCI. This extremely high standard of “American accreditation” now instills a new level of confidence in US citizens seeking affordable health care alternatives abroad.

In an interview to travel talk radio, Woodman emphasized that Medical travel has come as a viable alternative for Americans amidst the spiralling healthcare cost.

Explaining how medical tourism has now evolved into a trend,Woodman claims that these are the same accreditation agencies that accredit the best hospitals in this country: Harvard, JohnsHopkins, Mayo Clinic, Duke Medical Center. This has now allowed other hospitals to participate, as long as they can show that they are up to exactly the same standards that are demanded over at an American hospital. So, that gives Americans a huge amount of comfort that these hospitals have got kind of a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for their hospitals as well, whether it’s in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or Singapore, or Bangkok or India